Raichle (Rai) Farrelly, PhD Assistant Professor MA TEFL Program American University of Armenia

Lilit Manvelyan Graduate Student

MA TEFL Program American University of Armenia

Introducing Co-Teaching for EFL Pre-service Teacher Development TESOL Arabia, Dubai, March 13-15th 2014

Overview:

• Background

• Purpose of Study

• Research Questions

• Methodology

• Findings

• Implications, Limitations, Contributions

• Recommendations

• L2 Practicum Feedback

Background

• Second Language (L2) Teaching Internship at AUA – Program of Study: L2 Practicum (1st Year); L2 Internship (2nd Year)

• Motivations for implementing Cooperative Teaching

Purpose of Study

Investigate impact of co-teaching experience on teachers in an MA TEFL Program.

Fill a Gap: Typical Contexts of Implementation Inclusion classrooms

Science classrooms

EFL classrooms

Novice teacher with master teacher

Intercultural team-teaching

Guiding Research Questions

• What characterizes the cooperative teaching experiences of EFL pre-service teachers in an MA TEFL Program?

• What are the pre-service teachers’ perceptions of co-teaching in EFL classrooms?

Models of Cooperative Teaching

Approaches to Team Teaching

Team Teaching

Alternative Teaching

Parallel Teaching

Station Teaching

Lead and Support

Friend, Reising, and Cook (1993)

Models for Internship/Practicum

• Lead and Support (easier): – One assumes most instructional responsibility; the other assists

(classroom management, individual student attention, materials support, board work)

• Team Teaching (most challenging): – Both share responsibilities and are actively engaged in the activities at

the same time role-play, model expectations for activity, present dialogue, present debate, etc.

Methodology Qualitative Study

Context and Participants

• Context – Yerevan, Armenia – Afterschool English language program for school children

– 8, 55-minute classes, observed two times each

– Class sizes:10 -16 students

• Pre-service EFL teachers: – 16 MA TEFL 2nd year graduate students (all women) – Age: 21 - 38 – Sampling procedure: purposeful sampling

Methodology

• Data Collection

– Instruments

Classroom observations

Semi-structured interviews with students

Semi-structured interviews with pre-service teachers

• Data Analysis

– Observation and Interview data coded for themes &

categories

Major Findings

Major Themes Impacting Co-Teaching

• Partner Selection

• Partner’s Personal Characteristics

• Partner’s Professional Competence

• Attitudes about Co-Teaching

Partner Selection

• Trends

– Certain qualities are important (matching personalities)

– Being friends is a benefit

– Freedom to choose partner essential

– Freedom to opt out of co-teaching desirable

Partner’s Personal Characteristics

• Trends – Beneficial Characteristics

• Patience, understanding, hard-working, ability to give and

take feedback, respect, reliability, good listening skills,

willingness to collaborate, complimentary personality,

enthusiasm, interest in improving teaching, punctuality,

ability to compromise

Partner’s Personal Characteristics

• Trends – Challenging Characteristics

• Less experience, lack of organization, inability to

compromise, lack of flexibility (for planning, meeting),

dominant/controlling personality, inability to receive

feedback

COMPROMISE

We were sitting and thinking about that particular grammatical topic and an idea came to me and I expressed my idea. Then an

idea came to her; then we decided which one was better, which one was active, more engaging, and there was no problem […]. We equally agreed [regardless of] whose idea is the activity.

-Tatev

ON PERSONALITY

I’m the type of person who tries to live in peace all the time. That’s why I don’t like to work with a ‘’leader’’, maybe that I don’t want

to fight, to be in arguments, maybe I’ll step back. Though I’m not a weak person. I don’t know. I don’t want to work with a leader

person. I want to work with a person who would appreciate my skills too and try to really cooperate.

-Lusine

Partner’s Professional Competence

• Trends: learning from each other

– Student teachers reported learning about:

• new approaches to classroom management,

• creative approaches to activity design,

• lesson planning,

• student-teacher interactions, and

• teacher presence.

SHARING PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE

I had [the]chance to work with adults, and working with children was a little bit different, but my partner was experienced. She had had the chance to teach children and she knew how to deal

with hem, how to help them support them, encourage them, engage them, etc. So, I learnt those things from her. -Anna

CONFLICT OF PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE

The only problem was that we had different ways of

conducting the lesson, like she put the stress on mother tongue, she was […] teaching in a traditional way, that’s why maybe

we had different methods; that’s why I think this is one of the main obstacles.

-Shushan

TEACHER PRESENCE

[…] her calmness, and her giving time, enough time for students to process. I’m very impatient in my character, and I ask

questions and I don’t wait, and she mentioned it actually in her feedback; she mentioned it very nicely – “You have to give

them time.” I learnt that. - Gohar

ACTIVITY SELECTION

It was a good idea to co-teach […]; I learnt a lot from her. It somehow changed my attitude towards teaching. […] These

discussion were really effective, because we could choose better activities for our students, and of course during the

lesson, the support was really great from my partner’s side; […] she was very motivated. -Anna

Attitudes about Co-Teaching

• Trends

– Benefits: collaboration, creativity, communication, growth, saving time, increased confidence, increased student support

– Disadvantages: personality clash, mismatched professional knowledge, poor coordination (planning) • Good experience liked it

• Bad experience didn’t like it or are skeptical about trying it again

NEGATIVE CO-TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Maybe next time if I get along with someone that I know very well, maybe I will like it and manage it, but I really had such kind

of bad experience, that I really don’t want to continue co-teaching.

-Shushan

POSITIVE CO-TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Co-teaching helped me to be more confident and more relaxed when teaching […] because you know there is someone who can

help you whenever you are in trouble and if you have difficulty in expressing something… -Anahit

POSITIVE CO-TEACHING EXPERIENCE

I became [a] more self-confident teacher. Though I have early experience in teaching, I felt it’s an ascending scale in my

teaching. Yes, one thing is confidence; the other is low anxiety, safety. I was more self confident because I knew whenever I fail,

Tatev will help me. -Nona

Overall Co-Teaching Experiences

Positive

Anahit (with Nare)

Nare (with Anahit)

Gohar (with Anna)

Anna (with Gohar)

Tatev (with Nona)

Nona (with Tatev)

Lusine (with Aravik*)

Elen(with Liana)

Liana (with Elen)

Nune (with Arpineh**)

Negative

Shushan (with Varduhi)

Varduhi (with Shushan)

Seda (with Laura)

Laura (with Seda)

Mixed

*Aravik (with Lusine)

Unknown

**Arpineh – no interview

Would you co-teach again? A Collection of Responses

Yes, sure. [I] even had an idea with my partner to make a workshop with our staff in schools for them so see that it

is really beneficial, it’s really cool to co-teach. And maybe further they can take that kind of system for

teachers to co-teach. - Anahit

Yes, but with the people I know well and choosing my partner [myself]. For example there are people that I

would never co-teach [with] for sure. I had better teach alone than with them.

So much depends on the partner. -Tatev

Yes, sure, depending on who my partner will be. Whether we will understand each other, get along with

each other outside the class. Knowing each other outside the class is very important for cooperating. -Nona

[No], because I didn’t feel the benefits from co-

teaching besides technical minor things, about which I cannot complain, she supported me well if I needed -

distributing papers, bringing recorders, etc. –Seda

If my partner is maybe my friend, or maybe easy-going person, that she can admit my opinion, and I can

admit her opinion, then yes, I won’t be mind. But if it’s going to be the same as I had – no, never. - Laura

Limitations

Limitations

• Relatively small sample size (n=15)

• Short period of time for data collection (2 months)

• Limited time for co-teachers to adapt to approach

Implications

Co-Teaching in the L2 Practicum

Feedback from 2nd year interns Mostly Positive

Feedback from English language learners Positive

Feedback from Supervisors Positive

Implementation in 1st year practicum experience

Continued in 2nd year internship

Promoting professional collaboration in Armenia

Introducing new methods to learners, parents

Recommendations

Recommendations

• Present ample background information about co-teaching (models, potential challenges, approaches to communication/collaboration)

• Facilitate partner selection

• Provide periodic workshops/seminars

• Check in on teams throughout experience in person and anonymously (surveys, online forum)

• Allow them to leave partnership in extreme cases

Follow Up – The L2 Practicum

Co-Teaching in L2 Practicum

• Students were given the option

• Models of co-teaching were presented

• Stages of co-teaching were presented

• Partner selection was facilitated

• Pre-lesson consultations addressed lesson

planning and delivery

Reflection on Qualities of Effective Co-Teaching Partnerships – Task 1

• First: Think of your co-teaching partner. What are qualities of this person that you made choose her as a partner?

• Second: What would be the characteristics of someone with whom you would NOT want to co-teach?

• Third: Think about your own characteristics as a co-teaching partner. What do you think will make you a good partner? What do you think might be your weaknesses?

• Finally: Share these ideas with your partner.

Getting Off to a Good Start – Task 2

• Which model do you think will work best for us? Why? (lead & support or team teaching)

• How much time do you think we’ll need to lesson plan?

– On a timeline, when should we complete our lessons? (consider drafting, revising, getting feedback from mentor teacher and supervisor)

• How will we communicate during the lesson planning, delivery and reflection? (face-to-face, email, immediately, after some reflection time, etc.)

– When we disagree about an activity choice or about how a lesson went, how will we negotiate the possible tension?

– How do you want me to give you feedback – constructive and positive?

L2 Practicum Feedback

What were the benefits to co-Teaching?

Co-teaching shortens the time for preparation, halves the tension and pressure and is simply fun. Also it doubles creativity and teacher presence! I have

somebody to fall back on and I feel very safe.

The benefits are: psychological and mental support that everything is going to be ok cause there are two of us, multiple ideas concerning this or that activity […] critical feedback concerning your teaching

[…], how you explained this or that grammar or CCQ, different views, support in the class, support in

lesson planning (less time consuming).

What were the benefits to co-Teaching?

Would you like to co-teach during Internship?

I will be glad to have this opportunity once more. Because I consider our collaboration successive

and productive. We managed to work in the atmosphere of mutual respect and reliance. We

enjoyed working together and we had no disagreements. Our collaboration resulted in

interesting and engaging lessons.

Maybe that time I would like to try myself as an individual teacher, to see what I can do and can't

do myself. As already mentioned, co-teaching is especially good when you don't have a teaching experience. But years later no one is going to teach jointly. So there must be time to take the

responsibility for your own self.

Would you like to co-teach during Internship?

References

• Friend, M., Reising, M., & Cook, L. (1993). Co-teaching: An overview of the past, a glimpse at the present, and considerations for the future. Preventing School Failure, 37(4), 6-10.

• Bailey, K. M., Curtis, A., Nunan, D. (2001). Pursuing Professional Development: The Self as Source. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle.

• Friend, M. & Cook, L. (1996). Interactions: Collaboration skills for school professionals. White Plains, NY: Longman Publishers USA

Questions & Comments

Thank you very much.

Please feel free to contact us:

• Raichle Farrelly: rfarrelly@aua.am

• Lilit Manvelyan: lilit_manvelyan@edu.aua.am